UNHCR aid reaches displaced from Fallujah and Ramadi

A Syrian boy and girl on Iraq territory after crossing a river border crossing into northern Iraq.

BAGHDAD, Iraq, January 14 (UNHCR) – The UN refugee agency said on Tuesday that it has been able to deliver aid over the past week to some of the estimated 70,000 people displaced by fighting and insecurity in central Iraq's Anbar province.

"Aid from the UN and partner agencies has been reaching some of the affected communities since January 8, and yesterday a further 12 trucks of UNHCR relief reached neighbourhoods around Fallujah, carrying non-food aid," spokesman Adrian Edwards said, adding that the International Rescue Committee was conducting the distribution for UNHCR.

"At present, insecurity and access difficulties are still hampering the overall effort. The UN is advocating with the government of Iraq to ensure access to displaced persons and safe passage of humanitarian aid," he added.

The Iraqi government has lost territory in central Iraq since clashes erupted in late December, displacing some 70,000 people in Anbar, according to Iraq's Ministry of Displacement and Migration. Most of the displaced are located in areas around the cities of Fallujah and Ramadi, but authorities in other central and northern provinces report the arrival of hundreds of displaced families there too.

"The displacement in central Iraq is impacting other regions of the country. Authorities in the northern Kurdistan Region of Iraq report that some 14,000 people have arrived in the last two weeks from Anbar. UNHCR is coordinating with the regional government to establish their locations and assess immediate needs," Edwards said.

Although the displaced are said to be mainly accommodated with family or staying in hotels, UNHCR is coming across families living in abandoned houses and half-built homes that are in urgent need of assistance. At the request of the authorities in the Kurdistan region of Iraq, UNHCR and its partners are refurbishing a transit centre at Baharka to accommodate more displaced people.

Meanwhile, the UN High Commissioner António Guterres accompanied UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon on a visit Tuesday to a refugee camp in northern Iraq hosting 13,000 Syrian refugees. Valerie Amos, the UN's emergency relief coordinator, also joined the visit to Kawergosk Refugee Camp near Erbil to show solidarity with the refugees.

Ban Ki-moon, who will attend a pledging conference in Kuwait tomorrow and chair an international peace conference on Syria next week in Geneva, said he was there to listen to the concerns and aspirations of the refugees. "I am particularly saddened to see so many young children and women and vulnerable groups of people who suffer from this man-made tragedy," he added, before thanking the Kurdistan Regional Government for hosting tens of thousands of refugees from Syria.

The Syrians in the camp crossed into northern in August 2013, amid an influx of some 60,000 people before the border was closed in mid-September.

Earlier this month the Peshkabour crossing was reopened. Since then some 5,000 people have crossed, and several hundred now arrive every day. Of these only around 900 have registered with UNHCR.

These people are transferred to a reception centre where they are given basic assistance before being moved to the Gawilan refugee camp by the International Organization for Migration. Other recent arrivals have arranged their own transportation and are apparently going to Erbil and Suleimaniya to join families, while some proceed to Zakho and Dohuk.

"Authorities in the Kurdistan Region of Iraq have told us that they are adopting a flexible approach to the arrivals and those Syrians who do not want to stay as refugees can remain for up to seven days or approach the local authorities to legalize longer-term stay," said spokesman Edwards.

Only 30 per cent of the Syrian refugees in the Kurdistan Region of Iraq stay in camps, while the rest live in host communities. Currently Iraq hosts some 250,000 Syrians, of whom some 212,000 are registered as refugees.

Special Envoy Angelina Jolie in Iraq

The UN refugee agency's Special Envoy Angelina Jolie visited Iraq this week, meeting with Syrian refugees and internally displaced Iraqi citizens in the Kurdistan Region of Iraq. She offered support to 3.3 million people uprooted by conflict in the country and highlighted their needs.

Jolie spoke to people with dramatic stories of escape, including some who walked through the night and hid by day on their road freedom. She also met women who were among the 196 ethnic Yazidis recently released by militants and now staying in the informal settlement at Khanke.

"It is shocking to see how the humanitarian situation in Iraq has deteriorated since my last visit," said Jolie. "On top of large numbers of Syrian refugees, 2 million Iraqis were displaced by violence in 2014 alone. Many of these innocent people have been uprooted multiple times as they seek safety amidst shifting frontlines."

Photos by UNHCR/Andrew McConnell

Special Envoy Angelina Jolie in Iraq

Cold, Uncomfortable and Hungry in Calais

For years, migrants and asylum-seekers have flocked to the northern French port of Calais in hopes of crossing the short stretch of sea to find work and a better life in England. This hope drives many to endure squalid, miserable conditions in makeshift camps, lack of food and freezing temperatures. Some stay for months waiting for an opportunity to stow away on a vehicle making the ferry crossing.

Many of the town's temporary inhabitants are fleeing persecution or conflict in countries such as Afghanistan, Eritrea, Iraq, Sudan and Syria. And although these people are entitled to seek asylum in France, the country's lack of accommodation, administrative hurdles and language barrier, compel many to travel on to England where many already have family waiting.

With the arrival of winter, the crisis in Calais intensifies. To help address the problem, French authorities have opened a day centre as well as housing facilities for women and children. UNHCR is concerned with respect to the situation of male migrants who will remain without shelter solutions. Photographer Julien Pebrel recently went to Calais to document their lives in dire sites such as the Vandamme squat and next to the Tioxide factory.

Cold, Uncomfortable and Hungry in Calais

Iraq Crisis: Finding a Place to Stay

Tens of thousands of people have fled to Erbil and Duhok governorates in Iraq's Kurdistan region over the past week, sheltering in schools, mosques, churches and temporary camps following a surge of violence in parts of central and northern Iraq. UNHCR and its partners have been working to meet the urgent shelter needs. The refugee agency has delivered close to 1,000 tents to a transit camp being built by the authorities and NGOs at Garmawa, near Duhok.

Many of the people arriving from Mosul at checkpoints between Ninewa and governorate and Iraq's Kurdistan region have limited resources and cannot afford to pay for shelter. Some people stay with family, while others are staying in hotels and using up their meagre funds.

In the village of Alqosh, some 150 people from 20 families, with little more than the clothes on their back, have been living in several overcrowded classrooms in a primary school for the past week. One member of the group said they had lived in a rented apartment in Mosul and led a normal family life. But in Alqosh, they feared for the welfare and education of their children and the presence of snakes and scorpions.

Iraq Crisis: Finding a Place to Stay

Iraq: Heartbreak at the Border

As the Syria crisis enters a fifth year, Syrians continue to seek safety abroad. But desperation is driving some to return to their war-torn country.

Iraq: Angelina Jolie Visits Displaced Iraqis

UNHCR Special Envoy Angelina Jolie recently visited internally displaced Iraqis living in an informal settlement and a formal camp at Khanke, near Dohuk. There, she heard dramatic stories of escape from the more than 20,000 Yazidis who fled Sinjar and surrounding areas last August.

Iraq: The Plight of the Yazidis

Tens of thousands of people, including ethnic Yazidis originating from the Sinjar area, have been forced to find shelter in schools and unfinished structures across northern Iraq since fleeing their homes. The UN refugee agency has been trying to help, opening camps to provide better shelter.